Here we go again. I cannot believe that I am writing about the death of another cyclist on Key Biscayne. I can hardly summon the strength to repeat the words that have all been said before, in 2006, 2010, and 2012. This isn’t déjà [...]]]>

Here we go again. I cannot believe that I am writing about the death of another cyclist on Key Biscayne. I can hardly summon the strength to repeat the words that have all been said before, in 2006, 2010, and 2012. This isn’t déjà vu. This is a recurring nightmare.

First and foremost, our condolences to the family of Walter Reyes, and our prayers are with Henry Hernandez for a speedy recovery.

Miami has suffered another loss of another prominent, upstanding citizen, with another seriously injured. Another “accident” involving an *allegedly* drunk 20-something, quite possibly driving back to the Key after a night out. Shades of Michele Traverso and Carlos Bertonatti before him. Another family in mourning. Another flood of complaints for local officials. Another bout of anxiety for Miami cyclists.

To say that this latest tragedy was avoidable is the mother of all understatements. Anyone who has paid even a passing interest to Transit Miami knows that we have written about this. Time and time and time again.

The time to address these obvious concerns has long-since passed, and while we can do nothing to prevent people from making the terrible decision to drink and get behind the wheel, we absolutely can make modest investments to improve the infrastructure on the most popular stretch of roadway for outdoor enthusiasts in Miami – an area where cyclists outnumber cars on any given weekend.

But advocacy alone cannot fix the underlying problems that continue to threaten the lives of Miamians who bike the Rickenbacker Causeway, every day, for recreation and exercise. The time for our officials to heed the repeated warnings given to them by the cycling community has passed. The time to act has long-since passed, and in light of yet another tragic death, in a strikingly similar set of circumstances, this rises to the level of being an emergency.

Because you can expect more deaths. Cyclists will continue to ride the Rickenbacker. We will be out there tomorrow morning, without fail, and we will be out there every day from here on out. We have too few options for cycling in Miami, and the allure of this six-mile stretch of roadway, cutting a wide swath through Biscayne Bay and connecting city dwellers of a growing concrete jungle with tropical paradise, is simply too much to ignore. Moreover, as the City grows, so will the numbers of people on bikes – which is a good thing!

This is the tipping point.

Without question, the County has made enormous gains towards developing a more bike-friendly Miami since Transit Miami first began shedding a light on these problems years ago. We have miles of bike lanes, where we once had none. We have a bike-share program that the City has heavily invested in. The Underline appears to have a chance. There is hope.

As for the Rickenbacker, I have sat in numerous meeting with County Commissioners and County Public Works officials who are coming to realize the immense value in reimagining the Rickenbacker Causeway as more like a linear urban park, and less like the high-speed freeway that it appears like today. The benefits of a protected bike path, narrower lanes of travel, and a reduced speed limit have been acknowledged.

The risks inherent in allowing cars to drive 45 mph within feet of a growing number of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts is obvious. The continued failure to address these concerns borders on reckless indifference to the lives of those who simply want to enjoy being outdoors in our fair City. It is no longer responsible to pursue incremental change. Widespread change is needed, and it is needed now.

Mayor Gimenez and County Commissioners, we challenge you to fix the Rickenbacker. Not in ten years. Not in five years. Now. Before more lives are lost.

Public transportation in many ways captures the zeitgeist of a time and place. Adorned with art nouveau entrances and gorgeous white tiled interiors, Paris’s metro harkens back to the days of grand public works. Bogota recently strengthened its image internationally with their successful and much imitated TransMilenio bus system.

Bus [...]]]>

Text and photos by Eric Van Vleet

Public transportation in many ways captures the zeitgeist of a time and place. Adorned with art nouveau entrances and gorgeous white tiled interiors, Paris’s metro harkens back to the days of grand public works. Bogota recently strengthened its image internationally with their successful and much imitated TransMilenio bus system.

Bus service in Miami-Dade expresses something profound as well, but not necessarily a vision the county would want to be widely known for. Plainly, in Miami-Dade the bus system’s only reliability is its unreliability.

The most common topic of conversation between bus riders is not about local events or the weather, but the unreliability of the bus system. Ideas about the deficiencies in the bus system for many riders seems to reveal a profoundly cynical if not realistic understanding by working class people in Miami-Dade as to how much the county is willing to invest in their ability to move efficiently.

Just the other day I was waiting for a bus that was 40 minutes late. Finally as my bus arrived, an elderly woman who had waited much longer began to fume. As the door closed I heard her yell:

“This city only cares about tourists. They don’t care about us anymore!”

Instead of shouting at the bus driver who is merely trying to navigate traffic and drive their route, often I will call Miami-Dade transit to lodge a complaint every time the bus is more than fifteen minutes late. One time while complaining about a late bus, I heard a man laughing behind me. When I got off the phone, he said to me:

“Don’t you know, nothing will change by you doing that.”

His cynical laughter toward my complaint echoed a kind of futility that I had heard in the voices of so many people complaining to each other about the bus service. They all just figured speaking would do not good since no one was listening.

Such a detached attitude might be possible if people did not rely on the bus for getting to work, running errands and seeing friends and family. Instead of letting go any expectations about it arriving on time, better that we as its most frequent riders continue to vocally demand better service.

Continuing to call each time the bus is late would at least provide the county with data so that they could better see where and when they experience delays. Their customer service number is 305-891-3131.

Once the bus system actually becomes more reliable, people may start to drive less and take the bus more, which would limit Miami’s other great source of collective suffering—traffic. Bringing innovations from the Metrorail like real-time updated schedules and information about delays would greatly benefit bus drivers and cut down on useless and anger-inducing waits for passengers.

Increasing dedicated bus lanes could decrease traffic delays making busses more reliable and quicker. Certain routes like the #11 and #8 simply need more buses as they are frequently packed and seats are difficult to find. These and other improvements would improve service for current riders, while also likely attracting new riders, including tourists.

Any place like Miami that is as a ‘global city’ should not look in wonder only at its rapidly proliferating glass high rises sure to be readily filled by a transnational clientele, but it also should look at what’s happening on the ground and on the streets where citizens waiting for the bus are never quite sure when and if it is going to come.

Everyone equally deserves to move comfortably and efficiently to and from the diverse neighborhoods and local landmarks that make Miami-Dade so unique.

Eric Van Vleet is a PhD student in the Global & Sociocultural Studies program at Florida International University. He is a fixture on Miami-Dade bus route #8, though prefers route #24, through the banyan-lined roads of Coral Gables. His courses’ reading materials show erratic underlining because of the buses’ frequent and unexpectedly abrupt stops and drops into potholes.

We’re please to announce the launch of Kidical Mass Miami! Kidical Mass was first launched in Oregon and has now spread to over a dozen communities throughout the US and Canada and beyond. It is a legal, safe and FUN bike ride for kids, kids at heart, and their families.

Kidical Mass is absolutely not like [...]]]>

We’re please to announce the launch of Kidical Mass Miami! Kidical Mass was first launched in Oregon and has now spread to over a dozen communities throughout the US and Canada and beyond. It is a legal, safe and FUN bike ride for kids, kids at heart, and their families.

Kidical Mass is absolutely not like Critical Mass with Kids. Kidical Mass are law-abiding family friendly bicycle rides through a community. The purpose is to raise awareness and teach kids and caregivers riding and safety skills, spreading good vibes and happiness instead of frustration. We are creating awareness for the growing presence of kids and families on bikes and the need for all road users to respect other users of the road. . We are also bringing together families who bike in an effort to provide a positive community experience that will show children how much fun riding your bike can be

We welcome all types of bikes, tricycles, trailers, trail-a-bikes, Xtracycles, longtails, bakfiets, Long Johns, tandems, folders, trikes! We celebrate the fact that Kids are Traffic Too and aim for family fun on vehicles that don’t hurt the future! It’s just another excuse to pedal around town with your family.

]]>http://www.transitmiami.com/development/documentary-right-to-wynwood-gentrification-though-art/feed4City of Miami Public Hearing: Small Building Parking Exemptionhttp://www.transitmiami.com/places/miami/city-of-miami-public-hearing-small-building-parking-exemption
http://www.transitmiami.com/places/miami/city-of-miami-public-hearing-small-building-parking-exemption#commentsThu, 16 Oct 2014 13:56:10 +0000http://www.transitmiami.com/?p=18644Will our City commissioners finally come to their senses and realize we cannot evolve into a world-class city if we continue to require developers to adhere to minimum parking requirements that decrease affordability and perpetuate automobile use?

This discussion is long overdue, but finally the City Commission has agreed to conduct a public hearing on [...]]]>

Will our City commissioners finally come to their senses and realize we cannot evolve into a world-class city if we continue to require developers to adhere to minimum parking requirements that decrease affordability and perpetuate automobile use?

This discussion is long overdue, but finally the City Commission has agreed to conduct a public hearing on this issue.

The City will conduct a public hearing on this item on Thursday, October 23rd, 11:30 am at the City of Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, FL 33131.

Below is a link to sign the petition and pledge to speak at the Commission meeting. Also if you sign up through this site, you will be sent updates, post your comments and see articles about this issue.

Here’s a little more background at to why you should support the elimination of minimum parking requirements.

Minimum parking requirements are killing good urban development in Miami. Luckily, there has been a push to eliminate parking requirements for small urban buildings (<10,000 sq ft) in recent months. This is a good first step in the right direction if Miami really aspires to become a walkable and less autocentric city.

Minimum parking requirements perpetuate more automobile use and it also makes housing less affordable since the cost of building and maintaining required parking is passed on to renters and buyers. A few months ago Zillow released a housing report that cited Miami as the 2nd most expensive city for renters. The average Miami resident spends 43.2% of their income on rent.

Combine expensive housing with lack of public transit and minimum parking requirements that only serve to perpetuate the use of the automobile; its no wonder why Miami is one of the most expensive car dominated cities in the US.

Eliminating parking requirements would do the following things:

1) Allows small developers to choose how many parking spaces are needed based on what fits and what buyers or tenants want.

2) Replaces parking with denser development that generates more property and sales tax for the county and city.

3) Allows small property owners to keep their property and develop themselves.

4) Levels the playing field for small Miami property owners.

5) Allows for the creation of more walkable and denser urban neighborhoods.

7) Works toward retaining housing affordability, by allowing previously undevelopable lots – or lots with limtied development potential – to be built upon, to meet the future housing needs of all residents.

Below are the details for the reduced parking requirements that are being sought for small urban buildings. This is currently being advocated for at the commission level, so stay tuned for the resolution.

The proposed text for T4, T5, and T6 is underlined below. The non-underlined text already exists in Miami 21, a TOD/transit corridor parking reduction that does not apply within 500 ft of single-family/duplex areas (T3). The proposed text does not change that, it does not apply within 500 feet of T3. Below is a map of where the proposed text would apply: orange areas around rail stations, purple areas along transit corridors, but not yellow areas within 500 ft of T3.

“Parking ratio may be reduced within 1/2 mile radius of TOD or within 1/4 mile radius of a Transit Corridor by thirty percent (30%) by process of Waiver, or by one hundred percent (100%) for any Structure that has a Floor Area of ten thousand (10,000) square feet or less, except when site is within 500 feet of T3.”

Let’s hope City of Miami Commissioners can come to their senses and eliminate parking requirements entirely, not just for small urban buildings.

]]>http://www.transitmiami.com/places/miami/city-of-miami-public-hearing-small-building-parking-exemption/feed6FDOT hosting a Ciclovía Sunday, 12/14 on SW 8th Sthttp://www.transitmiami.com/fdot/fdot-hosting-a-ciclovia-sunday-112-on-sw-8th-st
http://www.transitmiami.com/fdot/fdot-hosting-a-ciclovia-sunday-112-on-sw-8th-st#commentsMon, 13 Oct 2014 18:13:50 +0000http://www.transitmiami.com/?p=18640[UPDATED]: The Florida Department of Transportation, under Secretary Ananth Prasad, is bringing ciclovía to Miami-Dade County. The plan is to “open the street” (in this case, SW 8th St from SW 22nd Ave to SW 9th Ct) to people on foot, on bike, on any form of non-motorized transportation, to experience historic Calle Ocho and provide [...]]]>[UPDATED]: The Florida Department of Transportation, under Secretary Ananth Prasad, is bringing ciclovía to Miami-Dade County. The plan is to “open the street” (in this case, SW 8th St from SW 22nd Ave to SW 9th Ct) to people on foot, on bike, on any form of non-motorized transportation, to experience historic Calle Ocho and provide FDOT with citizen input toward ongoing studies related to proposed improvements of this corridor.

Save the Date! Sunday, December 14, 2014, from 9am to 1pm.

Like Bike Miami Days, this ciclovía will be 100% free, family-friendly and locally based. There are no vendors – but there are lots of opportunities for local groups (Bicycle/Pedestrian/Health advocates, artists, community organizations) to participate by activating their own section of the 1.2 mile stretch.

Note: This ciclovía is confirmed on Sunday, December 14th. A previous version of this post stated a since changed date.

]]>http://www.transitmiami.com/fdot/fdot-hosting-a-ciclovia-sunday-112-on-sw-8th-st/feed1ULI Young Leaders Networking Event @ the PAMMhttp://www.transitmiami.com/development/uli-young-leaders-networking-event-the-pamm
http://www.transitmiami.com/development/uli-young-leaders-networking-event-the-pamm#commentsSun, 12 Oct 2014 13:12:11 +0000http://www.transitmiami.com/?p=18636Join the Miami Young Leaders Group for a special networking event at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in conjunction with PAMM Presents – a program focused on experimental sounds and diverse cross-genre music. Enjoy live outdoor music from internationally-acclaimed artists and drink specials while networking with your peers! More information on the PAMM Presents series can be found here.
This event will be first come, first serve with 50 free tickets handed out at the door (emails do not qualify as first come and no registration through ULI is required) – so be sure to come early! Once the 50 tickets are handed out, attendee’s may buy a ticket through the Museum for $12.

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http://www.transitmiami.com/development/uli-young-leaders-networking-event-the-pamm/feed0Car crashes into Miami sidewalk cafe, injuring at least 10. County and City Officials Are Guilty of Negligence.http://www.transitmiami.com/accident/crash-accident/car-crashes-into-miami-sidewalk-cafe-injuring-at-least-10-county-and-city-officials-are-guilty-of-negligence
http://www.transitmiami.com/accident/crash-accident/car-crashes-into-miami-sidewalk-cafe-injuring-at-least-10-county-and-city-officials-are-guilty-of-negligence#commentsMon, 06 Oct 2014 12:56:42 +0000http://www.transitmiami.com/?p=18629On Saturday afternoon 10 people were injured at Lemoni Café at Northeast 46th Street and Second Avenue in Buena Vista, after a Toyota Camry carrying three people drove into the cafe’s sidewalk seating area.

It was bound to happen sooner or later and the Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Homeowners Association has been warning [...]]]>

Source: Miami Herald

On Saturday afternoon 10 people were injured at Lemoni Café at Northeast 46th Street and Second Avenue in Buena Vista, after a Toyota Camry carrying three people drove into the cafe’s sidewalk seating area.

It was bound to happen sooner or later and the Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Homeowners Association has been warning the County and City for years that NE 2nd Avenue isn’t safe or suitable for pedestrians. Both the City and County have chosen to ignore requests by residents and businesses to make this road safer and thus should be held partially responsible for this crash and for the death of a pedestrian about a year ago.

It is simply unfathomable to me that the County and City would even allow for the conditions that created the scenario for this crash to exist. Both fail to recognize hat the current 35 mph speed limit and 40+ mph design speed is unsafe for everyone. The speed limit and design speed of NE 2nd Ave should not exceed 30 mph. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

On the other hand how does the City allow restaurant owners to put patrons in harms way by allowing outdoor dining within inches of cars that are traveling in excess of 45 miles an hour? This is simply reprehensible.

The real problem here is the County and City’s inability to take action on making NE 2nd Avenue safer. In no way am I advocating for the removal of outdoor seating, but until this road is made safer you won’t find me eating at anyone of these outdoor cafes.

This crash is just another fine example of the County and City’s inability to make conditions safer for pedestrians and cyclists. None of our elected officials are pushing to make Miami’s streets safer even though we are the fourth most deadly metropolitan area in the nation for pedestrians and cyclists. Simply put, our elected officials are turning a blind eye and therefore are negligent when is comes to addressing pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Below is a letter from the BVEHNA Board of Directors. I’m glad this organization has documented the incompetence of our local government:

Dear local government representatives:

See the letter below which has been circulating for about 3 weeks now-after a similar campaign last summer, and now on the heels of a very serious accident in the 4600 block of NE 2nd Avenue. 8 people were injured when a car left the road, went through planters and struck people outside of a cafe. The car stopped when it finally hit a telephone pole. There are NO CURBS, and no parallel parking, and the street has been a safety hazard for 3 years now. THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. Any action at this point is too late for the restaurant client who DIED crossing the street last year, and now another 8 people injured. The community is fed up, I as a resident and customer at multiple businesses in this stretch of road am fed up and you need to do your jobs. We don’t want to hear about the construction moratorium that comes at the end of November, and now we are in a new fiscal year so the lack of funding is not an excuse either. FIX IT. IT HAS BEEN 3 YEARS. I am sure you will receive photos of the damage. You should feel responsible.

I am writing this letter to express my concern for the lack of progress on NE 2nd Avenue between NE 42nd Street and NE 50th Street. If you have driven on this stretch of road, you are no doubt intimately aware of the need to resurface NE 2nd Avenue, and we as residents and neighbors have suffered through at least three years of no progress since the initial work began.

Almost three years ago, the street was torn up to install new sewer pipes. In the meantime, street lighting has been sporadic, traffic and new businesses have increased, we’ve seen an increase in traffic accidents, a fatality of one of the restaurant patrons, an increase in burglaries and thefts, and no doubt, many motor vehicles have suffered.

In June of summer 2013, many neighbors voiced concerns through a letter/email campaign asking where the progress was on street resurfacing, parking, curbs, expanded sidewalks and landscaping. A plan that incorporated all of those issues except landscaping had been developed when the road was torn up, with the only issue being a request for more landscaping instead of palm trees as the completed section of NE 2nd Avenue shows just north of NE 54th Street.

As a result of the letter writing campaign that reached both city and county commissioners, as well as Mayor Regalado, the City of Miami said that work would begin towards the end of 2013 due to the change in fiscal year. It was then pushed back to the beginning of 2014 due to Art Basel and various winter festivities. It’s now October of 2014 and the excuses bounce back between the city and the country, and the finger of blame has even been pointed at Buena Vista East residents for wanting shade landscaping so that NE 2nd Avenue would be more pedestrian friendly, like the Design District.

In addition, the pedestrian safety factor is becoming a larger issue-parking between 46th and 47th Street has almost a 1 foot drop off due to erosion, and the sidewalk is eroded or completely covered, giving pedestrians no choice but to walk in the street. NE 2nd Avenue crowns higher than sidewalks on both sides and many areas flood when it rains. There are no crosswalks indicated nor any other safety markings for the entire length of this area.

However, the key partners in this endeavor, the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, are still passing the buck and have yet to begin any sort of repairs to the streets or improvements to sidewalks and drainage. The poor economy excuse is gone, development and developers are booming, money was allegedly allotted for this project, and we still have an eyesore along NE 2ndAvenue in an area with 7 restaurants, several boutique clothing shops, and several specialty shops ranging from gifts and furniture to fine wines and chocolates, as well as a small grocery store.

Find the funding to complete this stretch of road. We’ve been too patient for too long.

The NE 2nd Avenue County and City circus act needs to come to an end before someone else is killed. I expect the County and City to be proactive and not reactive. Both the County and City should work towards implementing complete streets policies.

Meanwhile in NYC the speed limit throughout the entire city was reduced to 25 mph and NYC Mayor de Blasio adopted Vision Zero, which aims to achieve no fatalities or serious injuries. In Miami Dade County our elected officials seem to have zero vision.

When: Meet-up at 10:00AM on Saturday, October 11, 2014

(MIAMI, FL September 29, 2014) – Emerge Miami’s 100th Ride: Celebrate Diversity Miami, will be rolling through local communities on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014, giving people a unique opportunity to learn more about several of our culturally diverse neighborhoods, and to connect with fellow greater Miami residents in a fun and interactive way.

More than 100 cyclists are expected to attend this family-friendly event that will be kicking off Celebrate Diversity Miami, a new large-scale community engagement initiative that aims to promote a deepened sense of connectivity between the culturally and ethnically diverse communities of greater Miami. The group, departing from Government Center in downtown Miami, will visit Overtown, Liberty City, and Little Haiti before concluding with a celebratory picnic at the beautiful, waterfront Museum Park, which recently opened up to the public this summer.

Along the way, riders will first stop by Overtown’s Dorsey Park, where URGENT, Inc. has been working on several mural projects documenting the rich history of that community. The second stop is at the MCI KaBoom Playground in Liberty City, where the Miami Children’s Initiative has been taking a block-by-block approach to breaking the cycle of poverty by investing in the potential of every child. Then riders will make a third stop in Little Haiti to experience the Little Haiti Cultural Center’s recently opened Caribbean Marketplace, an entertainment venue for showcasing arts & crafts, culture, and food. Finally, everyone will make their way over to Museum Park, and come together to celebrate Emerge Miami’s 100th ride milestone.

Emerge Miami and Celebrate Diversity Miami are proud to have the enthusiastic support of the Urban Renewal Greater Enhancement National Team (URGENT), Inc., Miami Children’s Initiative (MCI), and Little Haiti Cultural Center.